humanity's first up-close and personal view

This true color mosaic of Jupiter was constructed from images taken by the narrow angle camera onboard NASAs Cassini spacecraft on December 29, 2000, during its closest approach to the giant planet at a distance of approximately 10 million kilometers (6.2 million miles). (NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute image)

NASA Tonight at 9:55 p.m., NASAs Juno spacecraft will fly directly over Jupiters Great Red Spot, the gas giants iconic, 10,000-mile-wide (16,000-kilometer-wide) storm.

Juno launched on Aug. 5, 2011, from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The data collection of the Great Red Spot is part of Junos sixth science flyby over Jupiters mysterious cloud tops. Perijove (the point at which an orbit comes closest to Jupiters center) will be on Monday, July 10, at 9:55 p.m. EDT.

At the time of perijove, Juno will be about 2,200 miles (3,500 kilometers) above the planets cloud tops. Eleven minutes and 33 seconds later, Juno will have covered another 24,713 miles (39,771 kilometers) and will be directly above the coiling crimson cloud tops of Jupiters Great Red Spot.

The spacecraft will pass about 5,600 miles (9,000 kilometers) above the Giant Red Spot clouds. All eight of the spacecrafts instruments as well as its imager, JunoCam, will be on during the flyby.

This will be humanitys first up-close and personal view of the gigantic feature a storm monitored since 1830 and possibly existing for more than 350 years.

Jupiters mysterious Great Red Spot is probably the best-known feature of Jupiter, said Scott Bolton, principal investigator of Juno from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio.

This monumental storm has raged on the solar systems biggest planet for centuries. Now, Juno and her cloud-penetrating science instruments will dive in to see how deep the roots of this storm go, and help us understand how this giant storm works and what makes it so special.

As the sun rises at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., clouds backdrop the Atlas V set to launch NASAs Juno spacecraft. (NASA/Kenny Allen image)

On July 4, Juno markedexactly one year in Jupiter orbit. At the time, the spacecraft chalked up about 71 million miles (114.5 million kilometers) in orbit around the giant planet.

The success of science collection at Jupiter is a testament to the dedication, creativity and technical abilities of the NASA-Juno team, said Rick Nybakken, project manager for Juno from NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

Each new orbit brings us closer to the heart of Jupiters radiation belt, but so far the spacecraft has weathered the storm of electrons surrounding Jupiter better than we could have ever imagined.

During its mission of exploration, Juno soars low over the planets cloud tops as close as about 2,100 miles (3,400 kilometers). During these flybys, Juno is probing beneath the obscuring cloud cover of Jupiter and studying its auroras to learn more about the planets origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere.

Early science results from NASAs Juno mission portray the largest planet in our solar system as a turbulent world, with an intriguingly complex interior structure, energetic polar aurora, and huge polar cyclones.

JPL manages the Juno mission for the principal investigator, Scott Bolton, of Southwest Research Institute. The Juno mission is part of the New Frontiers Program managed by NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the Science Mission Directorate. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the spacecraft. JPL is a division of Caltech in Pasadena.

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NASA's Juno Launched From Cape Canaveral In 2011 To Fly Over Jupiter's Great Red Spot Tonight - SpaceCoastDaily.com